Antitrust

On Thursday, March 3, 2016, the National Collegiate Athletic Association requested a 30-day extension to appeal from a Ninth Circuit ruling which held that the NCAA ban on compensation for the use of student athletes’ images and likenesses violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
The litigation began in 2009 when former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon and former ASU and University of Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller filed separate lawsuits against the NCAA, Electronic Arts Inc., and Collegiate Licensing Co. The original lawsuits claimed in part that…Continue reading...

On Thursday, February 11, 2016, the NFL and The Associated Press asked a New York federal judge to dismiss a group of professional photographers’ second attempt at asserting copyright and antitrust violations over the use of their photos taken at NFL games. At the hearing, the league and the media body — along with their co-defendants in the case, including Getty Images and Replay Photos LLC — argued that the photographers had failed to allege any new facts or claims in their second amended complaint,…Continue reading...

On Monday, January 25, 2016, a federal judge gave her approval of a settlement agreement between the MLB and sports fans over territorial blackouts and high prices for out-of-market sports packages.
The suit began four years ago when a group of sports fans sued the MLB, the National Hockey League (NHL), individual clubs, Comcast, and DirecTV. According to the fans, the defendants agreed in the early 1980s to divide up the country into geographic territories so that only one or a few teams could broadcast…Continue reading...

Tuesday, January 19, 2016 was supposed to mark the beginning of a trial between sports fans and Major League Baseball (MLB) over territorial blackouts and high prices for sports packages. However, just moments before the trial was to begin, the two sides reached a settlement.
The suit began four years ago when a group of sports fans sued the MLB, the National Hockey League (NHL), individual clubs, Comcast, and DirecTV. According to the fans, the defendants agreed in the early 1980s to divide up the…Continue reading...

Iowa State University recently voiced its objections to discovery requests made by a class of student-athletes in an antitrust litigation against the NCAA. The university contends that the discovery requests are burdensome, over broad, and involve protected private information.
The antitrust suit, brought by a certified class of student-athletes, challenges the NCAA rules that bar students from receiving financial aid beyond cost of attendance. Although Iowa State is not a named party to the suit, it objected to a subpoena it received from the class,…Continue reading...

On December 8, 2015, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) consolidated and assigned multiple antitrust lawsuits challenging the NFL’s exclusive broadcasting agreement with Direct TV to Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell in the Central District of California.
The antitrust suits challenge the agreement the NFL has with DirectTV, granting DirectTV exclusive access to all NFL games. Because of the exclusive agreement, football fans can only view out-of-market games if they have Direct TV’s NFL Sunday Ticket package. Surely, fans who do not have Sunday Ticket…Continue reading...

At a hearing on Thursday, December 3, 2015, U.S. District Judge Vince Chabbria indicated that he is likely to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit brought by professional caddies against PGA Tour, Inc.
In February 2015, professional caddie Mike Hicks and 81 others filed a class-action antitrust suit against the PGA Tour in a California federal court, alleging the Tour’s misappropriation of their “likeness and images in commercial activities.” The caddies seek for a share of revenue flowing in from caddies wearing bibs that display sponsors’ logos,…Continue reading...

On Tuesday, December 1, 2015, Stubhub filed its Notice of Appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, urging the Circuit Court to review its recently dismissed lawsuit against the reigning NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors.
Stubhub originally filed its lawsuit in April, alleging that the Warriors violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by restricting the “resale” of season tickets to Ticketmaster’s platform. The Warriors and Ticketmaster countered with a motion to dismiss, arguing that Stubhub failed to allege a…Continue reading...

The Golden State Warriors, the NBA’s reigning champions, won another victory last week, this time in the courtroom. On Thursday, November 5, 2015, a federal judge dismissed StubHub’s antitrust action against the Warriors and Ticketmaster.
StubHub filed suit in April, alleging that the Warriors violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by restricting the resale of season tickets to Ticketmaster’s platform. The complaint alleged that the Warriors threatened to revoke ticket privileges, deny first bid at playoff tickets, and refusal to invite ticket holders back next…Continue reading...

On November 5, 2015, a class action was filed against the NCAA in Indiana federal court. The NCAA, which has been the target of several lawsuits over student-athlete compensation restrictions, is now being attacked for anti-competitive transfer regulations.
Devin Pugh, named plaintiff and former Weber State cornerback, challenges the NCAA’s year-in-residence requirement and seeks to abolish scholarship caps. The NCAA’s current residency restrictions require student-athletes to take one season off when transferring between top-level schools. In the complaint, Pugh urges that the “NCAA’s limitation on…Continue reading...

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